Citadel of the Mists
Focal point of myriad magics and intrigues alike, the Citadel of the Mists is one of the most well-known human dwellings within the woods. This isolated castle lies in the forest's northern fringes and is home to many powerful people. The citadel' s undisputed lord is known only as the Mistmaster, a human of extremely long life who has reputedly been at least a mage and a priest of no small power. He dwells here with his household retainers and allies, among whom number the fighting priest Helm , Cherissa Mintareil, who gained great fame in the service of Cormyr, and the enigmatic wizardess from Silverymoon known only as Azure. The Citadel of the Mists, if not obscured by its namesake mists, appears as a slim triangle of three towers jutting from two large buildings and an enclosed courtyard. The tallest tower houses the aerie for the Mistmaster's pegasi, and this (as well as its egress into the Citadel) is heavily guarded by charmed air and fire elementals. The Citadel was built in its current form only 75 years ago, and it rests upon the foundations of an ancient elven fortress. Beneath the castle are ancient cellars and passageways belonging to the stronghold that preceded the Citadel at this location. These under-tunnels have been blocked repeatedly, and no one has walked these halls in nearly 3,000 years. Guarded by both monstrous guardians and mighty magic at all quarters above and below, the Citadel is cloaked in swirling wardmists whenever the Mistmaster wishes. a slim triangle of three towers jutting from two large buildings and an enclosed courtyard, is an isolated castle on the northern fringes of the High Forest. The tallest tower houses a pegasus aerie, well guarded by charmed air and fire elementals and only accessible via an exposed internal staircase that rises through a single large chamber. The Citadel is home to the enigmatic Mistmaster (CN hm C19—Leira/Ill26), a powerful, long-lived illusionist and lapsed priest of the Lady of the Mists, who may have once been the highest-ranking priest of the entire faith based in Milvarune. The Citadel is cloaked in an ancient wardmist that predates the castle’s construction by millennia. The Mistmaster has developed series of spells that allow him to trigger the awakening of the wardmist in the same way that a magic mouth spell is triggered, i.e. in almost all cases, by intrusions or specific intruder actions. In addition, the Mistmaster can cloak the entire Citadel in swirling mists at will. The former priest employs the Sarbossa Ring of Undarl, a unique magical device that enables him to shapechange (as the 9th level wizard spell) at will and may have other powers as well. The Mistmaster’s household retainers and allies include Iltmul (LN hm Mon11—Helm), an elite member of the Everwatch Knights, Cherissa Mintaeril (CG hf F9), who venerates the Luckmaiden and who gained great fame in the service of Cormyr, and Azure (NG hf W(I)12), an enigmatic wizard from Silverymoon. Each of the above-named allies and retainers bears a ward token, enabling them to move about the Citadel at will without triggering the wardmist’s defenses. The Citadel is riddled with ancient dimension doors of elven construction, that is invisible spots that whisk someone entering them in certain ways to other invisible spots, elsewhere in the Citadel. Some of these linkages work in the upper floors of the three Citadel towers despite predating the construction of the present fortress, a conundrum that only the Mistmaster has unraveled. The dimension doors are in some way tied to the Trail of Mists, but it is not possible to access the ethereal network of paths by employing them. Built in the Year of the Deep Moon (1294 DR) by agents of the Mistmaster, the Citadel of the Mists lies atop the foundations of an ancient elven fortress abandoned circa –4,300 DR at the end of the Seven Citadels War. The ancient cellars and passageways beneath the Citadel of the Mists were once one of five secret armories established by the gold elf cambions of House Dlardrageth circa –4,500 DR. The Dlardrageth armories, which may in turn have been built atop ruins of earlier fortresses dating back to the height of Aryvandaar, were storehouses of magical artifacts recovered from the ruins of the Vyshaantar Empire and defended by bound demon guardians. Gold elf agents of Siluvanede discovered four of the five Dlardrageth armories during the Seven Citadels War, including the one that now lies beneath the Citadel of the Mists, enabling the lesser houses of Siluvanede to wield the terrible legacies of the Vyshaantar Empire they found within the armories against their moon elven brethren in Eaerlann. (More information on the current status of House Dlardrageth can be found in Cloak & Dagger.) After the defeat of Siluvanede, the Fair Folk of Eaerlann discovered the subterranean armory that now lies beneath the Citadel of Mists. Eaerlanni archmages wrapped the armory in magical wards, so as to imprison those evils that remained within the armory’s deepest chambers. The armory lay untouched for centuries, until its empty upper chambers were given over to the Forgotten Folk circa –3150 DR to serve as a clearing station for the Trail of Mists. Circa –1700 DR, the gnomes were forced to erect additional wards around the ancient armory and abruptly ceased using it as a central way station of the Trail of Mists. One or more of the bound demons that had long guarded the legacies of the Vyshaantar Empire had managed to escape the former armory’s lower catacombs, and only the desperate action of a small band of forest gnome and moon elven adventurers managed to keep the unbound demons from escaping the upper catacombs as well. Today, the upper catacombs of the Citadel of the Mists are still defended by all manner of illusions, traps, and magical and monstrous guardians laid by the gnomes, and they are home to one or more partially freed demons as well. The tunnels and chambers contain well over three dozen nexus points through which it is still possible to directly access almost every nexus point found in the northern High Forest as well as those that lie amidst the ruins of ancient elven garrisons along the eastern edge of the Far Forest. Category:Citadels Category:Locations in The High Forest